Man says blast cracked his windows, gas company dubious

Blog Post by: Alejandra Matos

February 14, 2013 - 2:34 PM

Michael Keehn called me this week after reading my story in Sunday's paper about the CenterPoint Energy gas leak that damaged two dozen cars in the Cub Foods parking lot in south Minneapolis nearly two years ago.

Keehn, 56, said the March 2011 explosion cracked three windows in his home, which he had just replaced. He said he called CenterPoint, and like Necole Berglund, was given a claim number and the phone number for CenterPoint's claim office in Texas.

CenterPoint sent a couple of assessors to the home, Keehn said. After the visit, he was expecting a check in the mail, but instead got a phone call saying CenterPoint wasn't going to compensate him. Unlike Berglund, whose vehicle was undeniably scorched by the explosion, CenterPoint maintains that no nearby home was affected by the blast.

CenterPoint spokeswoman Rebecca Virden said there was no evidence to support Keehn's claim that the gas line rupture caused damage to his home.

Keehn said he'll replace the windows himself, because that's less than his $1,000 insurance deductible. "But I am going to take them to conciliation court to recoup my money," he said.